“Um—” Chloe hesitated, her leather bag swinging from her elbow. This was crazy. If he wanted her to audition for the part he’d have called. But he hadn’t. No, instead, he called the likes of Ginger Winters and Sabrina Fox.
Even if he miraculously wanted to cast her, the studio would balk. She was, to her regret, typecast. The girl who dies. He’d be crazy to—
“Chloe? Something to drink?” Jer stood by the fridge built into the wall.
“Um, sorry, yes, please, Diet Coke.” She entered the room, set her bag on a plush leather chair, and strolled to the window. “I’m not sure I’ll ever tire of this view.” Her father’s office at the Daschle mansion had the same one. But from her apartment in the mansion’s north wing, Chloe saw only backyard trees and the guesthouse.
“Laura and I love to come in here at night after the kids are in bed, put on some music, and just watch the lights.” Jer dropped ice cubes in a crystal glass and popped open the Diet Coke before handing it to Chloe. He retrieved a bottle of Perrier for himself, coming around to the long, deep red couch. “So you’re interested in Esther?”
Chloe joined him, taking the time to sip her drink before setting it on a coaster.
“Am I too late?”
He shook his head. “You’re not. She’s the only one we’ve not cast. Did your agent send you the script?”
“No. A friend of mine, Smitty Barone.” She’d run into him one Sunday. After church. Which he did not attend on a regular basis. But in the last five years, she’d grown accustomed to Smitty’s strange comings and goings. “He said the screenplay was from a new writer. Said I should go for it.”
“Smitty Barone?” Jeremiah sat back, arm resting on the back of the couch, his expression molded with concern. “Never heard of him. I’m not sure I like the idea of someone I don’t know pitching my script around.”
Chloe reached for her soda again, taking a drink to hide her nerves. “I-I hope it’s okay I called.”
The script had captured her from the first line. She felt Esther, as if they’d sat together on the L.P. rooftop in West Hollywood and talked through the sunset to the sunrise.
If Jeremiah would let her read, she’d give Esther every ounce of her twenty years’ experience.
“As a matter of fact, we just passed on Sabrina Fox for the role. She’s—”
“Too beautiful.” Chloe knew Sabrina. Talented, yes, but her striking looks proved to be a distraction. “She’s not a colonial girl, but I am, Jer.”
“We auditioned Marilyn West but passed on her too. We’ve been wondering where to go next.” Rising from the couch, Jeremiah slipped on a pair of glasses, then retrieved a copy of the script. A prodigy of her father’s, he’d risen to directorial greatness with the Oscar-winningKing Stephen Iand now the smash romance novel adaptationSomeone to Love. One day he would be a legend.
“I get Esther Kingsley, Jer. I am Esther. A girl looking for love who doesn’t believe she’s worthy.”
He regarded her for a long, intense moment. “That brouhaha with Haden really messed with you.”
Understatement of the year. The last three years.
“Can I audition or not?” She scooted to the edge of her seat. “I’m tired of hiding. Tired of dying. I know, I know. I’m stereotyped and a risk, but if you give me a chance... Jeremiah, just let me read for it.” Chloe dug in her bag for the script and drew it out, flipping through the pages, eyeing her notes. “I loved this story. I can’t believe it’s from a new writer. There’s so much heart and truth in every word. It’s hard to believe he didn’t actually live in 1781, backwoods South Carolina.”
“Jesse Gates? Yes, he’s talented. Why do you think I’m making a movie of his script? He’s playing the part of Flanders too.”
“Who’s playing Hamilton?” The hero. Esther’s love interest.
“Chris Painter.”
Chloe collapsed against the couch back. “Ah, I see.” She kept her eyes averted. Painter was an old flame from her teen years when they both played on the TV showHigh School Follies. Chris grew up to be the current hottest actor in Tinseltown.
“Is that going to be a problem?”
Chloe found her bravado and leaned forward. “Is that a problem for you?”
“No. But I don’t want any drama on the set. I don’t want any romances among the cast. Clive Boston nearly cost meKing Stephen Iwhen he fell for one of the actresses playing a lady-in-waiting. It was chaos.”
“Done. Chris is with Ginger Winters, and I’m with... well... nobody.” She’d recently started a faith journey and was learning how to love God first, then others. Including herself. She’d need supernatural power to achieve the last one. “Trust me, romance is the last thing on my mind.”
At least for now. In this moment. And for the duration of this film, should she get the part.
“All right. Let’s see what you got, Chloe Daschle.” Jeremiah flipped open his script. “Oh, hey, speaking of romance.” He chuckled softly. “You going to the Steinbrenner wedding this weekend?”
